Monday, April 28, 2008

LA vs WAR gave LA artists a platform to exercise their freedom of speech and able to comment on the war. Hundreds of artists representing Los Angeles' diverse communities united in delivering a universal message of peace and understanding, and offering resistance and opposition to the US government's war policies.

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

This morning I was treated to an amazing billboard done by Saber. The billboard is on La Cienega Blvd, a few blocks south from Pico Blvd on the way to the 10 Freeway.The left side of the billboard has a picture of a soldier dressed as a clown. To the right of it says "Greetings from the Occupation" and under it says: "Wish You Weren't Here." To the right of it there is a Saber piece.

It is a really impressive billboard. I don't expect it to stay up long so I urge you take a look if you are in the neighborhood.

We were treated to 2 short films before the showing: Revolution, a music video highlighting civil rights. And, Memoirs of a Smoker which gave us a glimpse into the life of a drug addict, Deantre Conner.

Piece of Mind follows the lives of 4 Los Angeles graffiti artists: Augs, Yoink, Char and Paste. This is a well done, well directed and really well scored movie. The quality is on par with mainstream movies.

I was blown away by the amazing live action footage. We are shown painting on Billboards, Freeways and Rooftops. We also get to see some legal walls being painted. I would love to get my hands on the extra footage that was cut or did not make the movie.

The movie features commentary from all four artists. The movie also shows the viewpoints of the other side. The viewpoints of the non-graffiti world include defense attorney, Carey Caruso, (whom I saw watching the movie), Paul Racs, Director from the Office of Community Beautification and Father Boyle, Founder of Homeboy Industries.